


Smile

by SamanthaGirlScout



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-28
Updated: 2017-04-28
Packaged: 2018-10-24 21:26:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10750128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SamanthaGirlScout/pseuds/SamanthaGirlScout
Summary: Sometimes all it takes is a small push for two people to come together.





	Smile

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RyoseiHime](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RyoseiHime/gifts).



Juleka has noticed a pattern as of late. Whenever she asks her group of friends to come over and hang out it goes a little something like this:

"Of course I'll come over and watch movies with you!" Rose says at the bottom of the steps before classes begin.

"I've gotta help my dad," Alix says on her way to her seat, "You know how he is with his projects."

"Practice," Kim says in the hallway before rushing off to class.

_There is a 100% chance that I will not be able to make it._ Max texts during their lunch break.

"I'd love to!" Nathanael says with a large smile on his face. But then something catches his attention behind Juleka as soon as the words are out of his mouth and he sheepishly scratches at the back of his neck "…but I have something going on?"

And then, by the end of the day, it's just her and Rose walking back to her parent's apartment.

With how often it's occurred Juleka is pretty sure that her friends are attempting to set her up with Rose. But what's the point? Everyone knows how much Rose loves Prince Ali. Ever since their little encounter they cannot get enough of each other. They chat all the time to the point that most teachers have banned her from using her phone in class. Though it frustrates her, their rules can do nothing to hinder Rose's happiness.

Besides, Juleka would never want to disturb her friend's happiness with her own feelings.

Today is a little different, though, as they meander through the after-school traffic there seems to be a fog hanging over Rose. The spark in her eyes is dulled and the usual bounce in her step is gone. Instead of a smile, she wears an overly-cheerful grimace that does nothing to mask the broken heart on her sleeve. She talks a lot about school, but Juleka can hear the tremble of a rainstorm in her cadence.

Juleka waits until they are making popcorn to ask about Rose's uncharacteristic behavior.

"Me? Sad?" Rose's laugh is hollow and far too loud for the small space of the kitchen where they are making popcorn. "I'm totally fine Juleka!" Her tone pitches up and mixes with the cacophony of pops coming from the microwave. She tries to widen her smile, but Juleka crosses her arms and stares at her.

It falls soon afterwards.

"We decided that it wasn't going to work out," she says as her gaze falls as well. "We have different interests, and he didn't think that he'd be visiting Paris again for a few years. There wasn't really any way to make it work."

"I'm sorry," Juleka says as she pats her friend comfortingly. She doesn't have any words to ease the pain so she stays silent. Rose covers her hand with her own and merely shrugs. A far calmer reaction than would be expected.

"It's alright. We're still going to be friends, and now I get to focus on spending time with you!" Rose gives her a brief hug before picking up the popcorn bag and pouring it into a bowl. Juleka puts a hand to her chest in an attempt to calm it from the sudden affection. "Can you pick one of your favorite horror movies?"

"B-but, you don't like scary movies, Rose."

"It's okay. You'll protect me, right?" Her smile has almost a mischievous glint to it and, before Juleka can say anything, the whirlwind that is Rose moves into her tiny living room. Juleka follows her in a daze and watches as Rose starts settling into the couch across from her television. Carefully holding the popcorn bowl, she pulls the ever-present throw from the back and lays it across her lap.

Without paying any attention, Juleka picks a movie and pops it into the DVD player. She eyes her seating options and nearly sits on the floor as far away from Rose as she can. But, with a deep breath she allows herself to sit on the couch as well, albeit as far away from Rose as physically possible.

The movie starts off rather calm. Teenagers going to a family member's cabin or something similar. This is when Rose nearly demolishes the popcorn and Juleka barely eats a kernel. Her friend is enraptured in the plot, unaware of how much she is eating and it takes all of Juleka's control to not stare at Rose.

She can't help a few glances, though.

"Oh no," Rose mumbles to herself as one of the teens decides to go off alone in the middle of the night, "Oh no, oh no, oh no. Please go back." She chews on her fingers and clutches the bowl of kernels to her chest spilling a few on the blanket. The figure walks into the mist and then, suddenly, a large figure of a wolf snarls and then pursues the protagonist.

Rose screams louder than the teen on the screen. The bowl goes flying, leftover popcorn and kernels scattering everywhere, as Rose latches onto Juleka's arm. She freezes at the contact at first, it startles her more than the jump scare, but eventually she settles down enough to gently pat Rose's head.

This is one of the many reasons why the group doesn't often indulge in her favorite movie genre. Despite their usual tough and self-assured attitudes, they generally cannot handle the thrill of the movies. And it doesn't help that Rose's reactions, while endearing to Juleka, set the others on edge making the movies all the more frightening. 

As the movie progresses the more Rose seeks out Juleka's physical comfort. First she buries her head in Juleka's shoulder. Then she's hugging Juleka's middle, face plastered to her stomach. And finally, as the credits roll, she is decidedly planted in Juleka's lap. The blanket is tangled around them, her face buried in Juleka's neck, limbs are holding her every which way and—

And Juleka is an absolute mess.

She's pretty sure that her face is every shade of red possible at this point. Her breathing is shallow. And she swears that there is a hoard of butterflies that even Hawk Moth couldn't rival flying in her stomach. She shouldn't be this affected by the proximity to her friend, but feelings have compounded these past few months and she cannot help it.

And then Rose is looking at her. Her own face flush with a pretty pink that is just so _her_ that Juleka isn't sure that her heart can handle how cute she looks. Rose's lips are moving, but Juleka can't hear a single word. All she can do is watch them move and in that moment she wants nothing more than to lean down and give her a sweet kiss.

But friends don't kiss each other, right?

A soft "Juleka?" finally catches her attention.  She feels a splash of cold water fall down her back in the moment that she realizes that she's been caught. She immediately starts looking anywhere, but at Rose.

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you a question?" Juleka nods, but stares resolutely at the television screen that is looping the disc menu. "Do you like me?

Juleka didn't think it was possible for her face to flush even more, but here she is with an even redder face. She wants to deny it, but one glance at Rose and she finds a soft "yes" escaping her mouth before she can think about it. When her response reaches her own ears Juleka bites her lip and looks away.

She hates how, just hours later, she has already broken her promise to not bother Rose with her own feelings. With how hurt Rose was with Prince Ali it's not fair to her. But here she is, letting the other girl see them. She expects her to disengage herself from their awkward embrace. Instead, gentle fingers guide her face back to Rose's where a gentle smile is awaiting her.

"I never mentioned what our differing interests were," Rose says quietly. "You see, Prince Ali was interested in me and I'm… I'm not actually interested in him. Not that I don't want to be friends with him! It's just that…" Rose looks away for a moment before catching Juleka's eye again, a small smile on her lips. "That I’m… I'm actually interested in you."

Juleka's jaw drops. "W-what?"

Rose laughs sheepishly. "I heard that pursuing someone else would make your crush jealous… But then you were so supportive instead… Alix finally set me straight and said that I should tell you how I feel directly instead of trying to get you to guess. Then Kim accidentally mentioned that you had a crust on _me_ , and then I had to end things with Prince Ali."

"Oh."

"Sorry," she says genuinely as she gently caresses Juleka's cheek. "I shouldn't have—"

"It's alright," Juleka says as she brings a hand up to cover Rose's. She feels a small smile spread across her own face.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Good. I'd hate to have hurt your feelings." They sit there for what feels like eons, but must have only been a minute or two.  What did one do with information like this? Juleka isn't sure, but her eyes dart down once more and she wonders if that would be okay. She wants to ask, but this is all so new that she feels overwhelmed and speechless.

"Can I kiss you?" Rose asks nervously. The question takes Juleka by surprise. She's a bit nervous herself, but soon Juleka finds herself nodding.

They're a bit hesitant. This is uncharted waters for both of them. Neither is sure what pace to go nor what to call this new territory in their relationship, but they both want this. 

So, for now, they focus only on the press of soft lips. The scent of roses and lavender. The taste of strawberries and grapes. The gentle caress of hands that are an afterthought to this new memory.

They pull back from each other and look into the other's eyes. There's a lot about the future that's unknown, but there's a silent promise in their shared smile:

They'll figure it out together.

**Author's Note:**

> To RyoseiHime:  
> Hey I hope you enjoyed this! I haven't really written for these two before so I hope it's okay! I think there's so much potential for really cute scenes between them!
> 
> To everybody else:  
> Thanks for reading! I decided to try and be a little more poetic with my writing because these two girls are so precious and I think it fits their perspective well. Please let me know what you think!


End file.
